Unless you can get CP3 or Howard, Pau Gasol is a keeper. This season was a fluke, everybody played worse than expected, except for, well Fish and Artest (both played considerably better than they did in the regular season). Pau and Odom were exceptionally bad, but it must have been a fluke. They probably hit the mental wall after four straight years of playing elite bball.

I also believe a trade is necessary, but no way in hell with Pau involved. He is simply too good.

As for trading with Minnesota, i'm not sure about what Kantor can provide I mean, best case he may be a 15-and-8 guy, who plays a average defense. Pau is a unique talent, top 5 big man in the league, who can play the 4 and the 5, while being a great passer. These guys don't come around too often, and we should hold on to him, unless a blockbuster trade emerges. (Maybe we can ship him to Atlanta for Hinrich and Josh Smith?).

I agree completely with you. Pau is too good to trade for an unproven rookie. Only minny-laker trade that should involve Pau, should also involve Love, the 2nd pick, and possibly Flynn.Isn't the Smith/Hinrich deal for Artest/Bynum? I'd consider a a deal with Atlanta if it were Smith/Hinrich for Lamar/and blake or ron. Hinrich isn't young and Smith is the ultimate wildcard-freak-athlete.

I agree completely with you. Pau is too good to trade for an unproven rookie. Only minny-laker trade that should involve Pau, should also involve Love, the 2nd pick, and possibly Flynn.Isn't the Smith/Hinrich deal for Artest/Bynum? I'd consider a a deal with Atlanta if it were Smith/Hinrich for Lamar/and blake or ron. Hinrich isn't young and Smith is the ultimate wildcard-freak-athlete.

This season wasn't a fluke the Lakers got exposed! I believe the Lakers can get K Love, 2nd pic and players and maybe a pic for Pau, I think the lakers can get a deal done with Ellis involving Odom. Have you ever wondered why Kanter is projected so high the draft? I wonder if it is because he smoked the USA team for 34 points a team that included Irving and knight and some other top prospects

I seen him play, he seem to have the total package offensively, I'm curious who has worked him out and claimed he displayed a lot of weakness.

About five different NBA scouts, and two international scouts.

There's one site that's reporting the complete opposite, but they are basing everything they say on his size and his will to compete, and again, there have been MANY big guys who wanted to wreck everyone in their pre-draft workouts, then they found their way into the league and didn't have the skills to produce.

It was rumored that Kanter knocked Joe Wolf (an assistant for the Bucks) out of bounds and completely out of a play during one of the workouts. People are running away with this, making it sound impressive. Look, Joe Wolf is a 6-11, 240-pound freak...as a coach. He's also 46 years old. People that know who Wolf is (not sure how many on TLN do) will tell you that he was drafted because of his size, and he spent just a decade in the league on a handful of teams because, quite frankly, he didn't have any quality skills to put him over the other monster centers in the league.

Kanter is all size. His aggressive play will get him killed in the pros if he doesn't have a polished game to back it up, and this guy hasn't played ball in a year. People haven't seen him since the Hoop Summit in April of 2010. He played at Stoneridge Prep...which isn't that impressive.

As an overly-aggressive player, he brings with him the tendency to foul...a lot. Also, aggressive bigs will come into the league turning the ball over. Howard, Perkins, Noah, Chandler, Kaman, Bynum, Marc Gasol, Bogut, Okafor, Oden, Splitter, Cousins...just some of the bigs that will have no problem banging down low with Kanter, and most of those that I named are players on a level that Kanter has never, EVER faced in his prep school career (because that's really all he has to his name, he was seldom used back in Turkey).

Kanter's ability to body his way to the rim against intimidated 17-18 year olds, and against 40-50 year old coaches, doesn't strike me as impressive, because all of us have seen it over and over again, with Kosta Koufos, Paulo Prestes, BJ Mullens, Nathan Jawai, Nick Fazekas, Kyrylo Fesenko, Kosta Perovic...even guys like Aaron Gray, Spencer Hawes, Robin Lopez...the list goes on and on, of guys that were overrated because of their size or physical play (or both).

If you wanted to see how a big man should be hyped going into the draft, look no further than Dwight Howard, and how he dropped jaws in workouts. If you're looking for the mistake, you'll find it just two years ago, when Hasheem Thabeet was dominating guys on a college level, and coach Calhoun stated that he could be one of the greatest defensive players in the history of the NBA...had some hype surrounding him, did some impressive things in workouts because of his length, and went on to be a nobody in the league (and he'll remain one).

I'm just not sold on Kanter...sorry. That's fine that you are. I just can't find a reason to be. I've seen too many others like him since the early 90s.

There's one site that's reporting the complete opposite, but they are basing everything they say on his size and his will to compete, and again, there have been MANY big guys who wanted to wreck everyone in their pre-draft workouts, then they found their way into the league and didn't have the skills to produce.

It was rumored that Kanter knocked Joe Wolf (an assistant for the Bucks) out of bounds and completely out of a play during one of the workouts. People are running away with this, making it sound impressive. Look, Joe Wolf is a 6-11, 240-pound freak...as a coach. He's also 46 years old. People that know who Wolf is (not sure how many on TLN do) will tell you that he was drafted because of his size, and he spent just a decade in the league on a handful of teams because, quite frankly, he didn't have any quality skills to put him over the other monster centers in the league.

Kanter is all size. His aggressive play will get him killed in the pros if he doesn't have a polished game to back it up, and this guy hasn't played ball in a year. People haven't seen him since the Hoop Summit in April of 2010. He played at Stoneridge Prep...which isn't that impressive.

As an overly-aggressive player, he brings with him the tendency to foul...a lot. Also, aggressive bigs will come into the league turning the ball over. Howard, Perkins, Noah, Chandler, Kaman, Bynum, Marc Gasol, Bogut, Okafor, Oden, Splitter, Cousins...just some of the bigs that will have no problem banging down low with Kanter, and most of those that I named are players on a level that Kanter has never, EVER faced in his prep school career (because that's really all he has to his name, he was seldom used back in Turkey).

Kanter's ability to body his way to the rim against intimidated 17-18 year olds, and against 40-50 year old coaches, doesn't strike me as impressive, because all of us have seen it over and over again, with Kosta Koufos, Paulo Prestes, BJ Mullens, Nathan Jawai, Nick Fazekas, Kyrylo Fesenko, Kosta Perovic...even guys like Aaron Gray, Spencer Hawes, Robin Lopez...the list goes on and on, of guys that were overrated because of their size or physical play (or both).

If you wanted to see how a big man should be hyped going into the draft, look no further than Dwight Howard, and how he dropped jaws in workouts. If you're looking for the mistake, you'll find it just two years ago, when Hasheem Thabeet was dominating guys on a college level, and coach Calhoun stated that he could be one of the greatest defensive players in the history of the NBA...had some hype surrounding him, did some impressive things in workouts because of his length, and went on to be a nobody in the league (and he'll remain one).

I'm just not sold on Kanter...sorry. That's fine that you are. I just can't find a reason to be. I've seen too many others like him since the early 90s.

Your right I'm sold on him, I have also seen it go the other when players had great workouts and turned out to be busts. For him to be projected so high their are a lot of people who agree with me.

I actually wasn't going to get into this yet (because I'm wanting to write a draft article), but I'll go ahead and talk about Kanter's game.

In recent evaluations and workouts, they have talked about his lack of defensive skills and offensive awareness, IQ and skills. Specifically, on defense, he doesn't bend his knees in the paint, is caught multiple times with his hands down at his sides, and he rarely boxes out. Back on offense, he doesn't have the footwork Yao did when he came into the league, and most of his offense is produced by him just using his frame/size, which is a BAD thing.

The offensive woes, the way he actually gets his points...it reminds me of Kosta Koufos, who is a legitimate body down low, nothing to offer in the post but size.

Another problem is the fact that he didn't play any college ball, hasn't really played anywhere competitive, and these workouts aren't against top-notch NBA players he'll be seeing night in and night out.

If we were to get that #2 for Gasol, I would have to see Kevin Love included, which won't happen because the Wolves aren't that ignorant. From what I've seen of Kanter, and from all of the reports coming from his most recent workouts, he's a huge, huge risk...and people said the same exact thing about Kosta Koufos.

I think the thing most are impressed with would be his size, but even his wingspan comes up short when compared to other talent recently drafted that are his height. I'd say it's mostly the seven-foot aspect, and the fact that he's around 260...same as Koufos.

That worries the hell out of me. I believe we could do much better if we're dealing Gasol.

Going to revisit this, and use Amico's Twitter message to show some validity in what I was saying.

SamAmicoFSO Sam Amico For all the confident talk by his agent, it appears Enes Kanter is slowly dropping out of the top five of NBA draft. Poor workouts maybe?

The guy is having a lot of trouble, and it comes as no surprise for me. He has never proven he could play at a high level, and it's starting to show in the workouts.

Going to revisit this, and use Amico's Twitter message to show some validity in what I was saying.

SamAmicoFSO Sam Amico For all the confident talk by his agent, it appears Enes Kanter is slowly dropping out of the top five of NBA draft. Poor workouts maybe?

The guy is having a lot of trouble, and it comes as no surprise for me. He has never proven he could play at a high level, and it's starting to show in the workouts.

I haven't been thinking about Kanter recently because I was thinking of ways to package the pick with Odom and players to get CP3 or Deron, I overlooked the Obvious which was to Package the pick with Bynum for Howard. I'm hoping the Lakers can trade Bynum plus players for Howard and package Odom with the 2nd pick for a Top tier point guard. The latest I heard on Kanter was Utah was going to pick him up with the 3rd pic. Utah was to supposed to have contact the wolves about moving up their pick so they can get Williams and the wolves refused so Utah is supposed to get Kanter instead. This came from Bleacher report so who knows how accurate it is as you pointed out to me.

Even though we don't have a top flight PG, Flynn is way better than Fisher and improves our defense just with his quickness. Without Pau we lose inside scoring and defense but get youth and toughness with Love, plus his outside shooting opens up the paint for Dwight Howard to dominate inside. Even though we take on Arenas's huge contract we get to shed some of our garbage on the Magic (Blake and Walton). Arenas hopefully regains his shot and teams up with Beasley to give our 2nd unit some scoring, while Barnes and Fisher provide veteran leadership and mental toughness. Best part is we still have the 20th pick to draft either a PG or wing player, where they sit on the bench and learn until Fish or Artest retires. Or we could always package the 20th pick and another player to trade up, just a thought.

Lakers get Kevin Love, Johnny Flynn, Michael Beasley, Martell Webster, and the 20th pick.Minnesota gets Pau Gasol, either Derrick Caracter or Devin Ebanks, and as many of our 2nd round picks as they want

Even though we don't have a top flight PG, Flynn is way better than Fisher and improves our defense just with his quickness. Without Pau we lose inside scoring and defense but get youth and toughness with Love, plus his outside shooting opens up the paint for Dwight Howard to dominate inside. Even though we take on Arenas's huge contract we get to shed some of our garbage on the Magic (Blake and Walton). Arenas hopefully regains his shot and teams up with Beasley to give our 2nd unit some scoring, while Barnes and Fisher provide veteran leadership and mental toughness. Best part is we still have the 20th pick to draft either a PG or wing player, where they sit on the bench and learn until Fish or Artest retires. Or we could always package the 20th pick and another player to trade up, just a thought.

I like this Trade if we cant get a top tier point guard, I like that we have the 20 pick Alec Burks is still suppose to be their at No.20

Lakers get Kevin Love, Johnny Flynn, Michael Beasley, Martell Webster, and the 20th pick.Minnesota gets Pau Gasol, either Derrick Caracter or Devin Ebanks, and as many of our 2nd round picks as they want

Even though we don't have a top flight PG, Flynn is way better than Fisher and improves our defense just with his quickness. Without Pau we lose inside scoring and defense but get youth and toughness with Love, plus his outside shooting opens up the paint for Dwight Howard to dominate inside. Even though we take on Arenas's huge contract we get to shed some of our garbage on the Magic (Blake and Walton). Arenas hopefully regains his shot and teams up with Beasley to give our 2nd unit some scoring, while Barnes and Fisher provide veteran leadership and mental toughness. Best part is we still have the 20th pick to draft either a PG or wing player, where they sit on the bench and learn until Fish or Artest retires. Or we could always package the 20th pick and another player to trade up, just a thought.

Agree! The only way we get Love for Gasol is by taking on all the guys they do not want, as well as giving up Ebanks and / or picks.

I do think they're willing to trade Love, though. He is in his final year of his not-so-lucrative contract in a not-so-impressive Minneapolis. He will leave, and Pau is an awesome player to get in return. Especially if they can rid themselves of all the pieces that don't fit.

Pau gives them veteran presence, leadership and a top5 big-man for the next few years.

Lakers get Kevin Love, Johnny Flynn, Michael Beasley, Martell Webster, and the 20th pick.Minnesota gets Pau Gasol, either Derrick Caracter or Devin Ebanks, and as many of our 2nd round picks as they want

Even though we don't have a top flight PG, Flynn is way better than Fisher and improves our defense just with his quickness. Without Pau we lose inside scoring and defense but get youth and toughness with Love, plus his outside shooting opens up the paint for Dwight Howard to dominate inside. Even though we take on Arenas's huge contract we get to shed some of our garbage on the Magic (Blake and Walton). Arenas hopefully regains his shot and teams up with Beasley to give our 2nd unit some scoring, while Barnes and Fisher provide veteran leadership and mental toughness. Best part is we still have the 20th pick to draft either a PG or wing player, where they sit on the bench and learn until Fish or Artest retires. Or we could always package the 20th pick and another player to trade up, just a thought.

is this a joke. opposing GMs exist only to make the Lakers a better team, and will gladly trade their best players for anything the Lakers have to offer. Get real.

Ya, GM's would be stupid to trade for Gasol, he's such a horrible player (i'm being sarcastic if you can't tell). Its funny how people overrate Kevin Love and underrate Pau Gasol. Love is a good All-Star type player but Pau Gasol is an All-Pro who also plays defense. As a Laker fan, the only reason I would make this trade is because Love is alot younger and might be fit a little better playing with Andrew Bynum (he doesn't clog up the lane). Also this trade would bring them some depth, which the Lakers definitely need.This trade also works out for the Wolves. It gives them an all-NBA 2nd teamer who can't bolt town in a year (like Love can) and let's them keep the 2nd pick in the draft. A trio of Rubio, Derrick Williams, and Pau Gasol might even be good enough to let David Kahn keep his job.

Ya, GM's would be stupid to trade for Gasol, he's such a horrible player (i'm being sarcastic if you can't tell). Its funny how people overrate Kevin Love and underrate Pau Gasol. Love is a good All-Star type player but Pau Gasol is an All-Pro who also plays defense. As a Laker fan, the only reason I would make this trade is because Love is alot younger and might be fit a little better playing with Andrew Bynum (he doesn't clog up the lane). Also this trade would bring them some depth, which the Lakers definitely need.This trade also works out for the Wolves. It gives them an all-NBA 2nd teamer who can't bolt town in a year (like Love can) and let's them keep the 2nd pick in the draft. A trio of Rubio, Derrick Williams, and Pau Gasol might even be good enough to let David Kahn keep his job.

Well the word out now is Minny is not trading the 2nd pick if you believe them,